FLAGLER COUNTY ABSTRACT COMPANY:
sses That Last: the Details
by Danielle Anderson
FLAGLER COUNTY ABSTRACT COMPANY:
Expertise, Excellence and Attention to Detail
Jesse H. McKnight III can trace his company’ s history back to the earliest days of the county in 1917. Flagler County Abstract Company is the oldest operating business still in existence, found in Book 1, Page 1 of the state corporate papers in Flagler County, he says. An abstract and title company does vital research to make sure a real estate transaction is legal. The company provides the lender, insurance company and buyer with information about any issue surrounding the property.
With a photographic memory and an attention to detail like few others, the James Joyce published author and Kent State University graduate says they take a deep dive, researching back to the land grants from the King of Spain in the late 1700s, when overseeing projects for clients.
Co-founded by Rudolph Peterson and McKnight’ s uncle Claude Varn, one of the county’ s earliest movers and shakers, there’ s always been a family member at the helm or in ownership of Flagler County Abstract Company.
Bought out by O. F. Alford in the 1920s, Alford remained owner until the 1970s according to McKnight. His mother, Audrey McKnight managed the company during this time, and shortly thereafter while under ownership of the Charles Creal, she bought fifty percent of the company in 1973. In 1982, the McKnight family purchased the remaining shares, retuning full ownership of the Flagler County Abstract Company to the founding family.
As a Stetson educated attorney, Varn’ s expertise was invaluable in the early days as scribes for the Flagler County Abstract Company copied by hand documents and records from the courthouse, samples of which Jesse McKnight proudly has to this day.
Jesse H. McKnight III
“ Every member of my family went to the court house, looked at the recorded instrument and did a take off, came back and it got typed up and that was an abstract of the deeds, the mortgages or the judgments, court cases or whatever it might be, got recorded,” recounted McKnight.
“ That became abstracted, and we have all of that from day one. Not only that, we’ re the only people who have the state papers. This became very important,” he said, when his mother oversaw the abstracts during ITT’ s development of Palm Coast.
Their reputation for over a century of excellence has ensured that as time goes on and technology changes the industry, it’ s the McKnight’ s meticulous attention to detail and accuracy that has enabled the business to grow from a single office in Bunnell to locations in Flagler Beach and Palm Coast over the years.
“ He( Claude Varn) believed in doing things the right way. It has to do with making sure that if you own a piece of property it’ s certified, it’ s guaranteed, it’ s assured and it’ s based on evidence,” said McKnight, carrying on the family’ s legacy.
JUNE 2021 | 9 |